11 secrets great photo website by Elie Angles

TABLE of CONTENTS 4

Intro

Sneak Peek: PhotoShelter’s new portfolio websites

Questions to ask when choosing a photo website provider

11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

#1 Keep it clean and simple

#2 Consider full bleed images

#3 Be responsive

#4 Act like a GPS

#5 Don’t be a poet

#6 Edit your portfolio tightly

#7 Be SEO-ready

#8 Put your contact info everywhere

#9 Get social

#10 Faster is better

#11 Be ready to sell

Conclusion

© 2013 PhotoShelter, Inc No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, without the prior written consent of PhotoShelter, Inc. The logos of the companies described are the trademarks of their respective owners. No endorsement is implied. PhotoShelter, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation.

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| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

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Introduction Your website is your most important business tool. In one click, potential clients can get a solid hold of what you do, including the products and services you provide, your speciality, your aesthetic, your brand, your personality, and more. The job of your website is to convince visitors that they’ve found exactly what they’re looking for. It’s also your website’s job to convince them of that very quickly.

Here’s a snapshot:

As a working photographer, you want to build a solid list of clients and incoming new work so you can continue to grow your business and spend more time doing what you do best—taking photos. That’s why your business needs to be anchored online with a strong website that can help convert potential clients into paying customers. These paying customers are ultimately your golden ticket to more business opportunities; they can be ambassadors who help spread the word about how great your work is and how wonderful you are to work with.

90% of photographers said they have plans to improve their website this year

So, if your website is doing its job—if clients can find what they’re looking for, learn about your business, and are impressed with your level of professionalism—there’s a solid chance they will do business with you, come back again, and tell their friends to do the same.

One of our biggest takeaways from the survey was that photographers know they need a great photo website to appeal to customers and build their businesses. But the question is, what does a “great photo website” mean?

But we know this isn’t news to you.

This guide will dive into 11 important considerations you need to take into account to attract potential customers and photo buyers, encourage word-of-mouth referrals, and grow your businesses better via your website. After all, paying attention to a few commonly overlooked details could result in more jobs for you at the end of the day.

In fact, in a recent survey we did with the PhotoShelter community called The Photographer’s Outlook on 2013, we gathered key learnings about photographers’ major challenges and goals, plus what they plan to focus on most to improve their business this year.

74% of photographers said finding new clients is their biggest challenge

73% of photographers said they would focus on word-of-mouth marketing the most to attract new clients

*The survey encouraged photographers to choose more than one option, and data may not add up to 100%.

We’ll also dive into how PhotoShelter can help check all of that off your list, starting with an exclusive look at our new portfolio websites. Currently in Beta with a public release scheduled for later this summer, these innovative and forward-thinking portfolios will knock the socks off anyone coming to your site (if we’ve done our jobs right!). So let’s get started and break this down.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

Sneak Peek: PhotoShelter’s new portfolio websites We created these new portfolio websites because we’re committed to helping photographers succeed as business owners. In order to do that, we need to grow our platform alongside evolving technologies. These new portfolios are our first step toward that. At PhotoShelter, we’re always looking for ways we can help you showcase your brand and give your clients a better online experience. Our new portfolio websites are meant to do just that. These sites are part of our newest visual platform offering sleek and innovative websites engineered to let you showcase your photos front and center on your desktop, laptop, iPad, iPhone—you name it.

What They Do For You Our new portfolios are built on a lightweight, cutting edge platform designed to showcase your work in the best possible light—and make it easy for you to set up to boot! To accomplish this, we’ve created portfolios that: Are tablet-optimized: Responsive design and HTML5 allow your images to scale according to your screen size so your photos will render beautifully on nearly any device, anywhere you are.

Want to change your website’s fonts or colors, upload a new logo, swap or add new pages, or add new copy quickly? Live editing lets you see changes instantly as you make them, and save as you go.

Let you edit in real-time:

From full-screen (with full bleed image presentation) to film strips, or a photo wall to single image views, your images will always look their best, with no competing clutter.

Show off striking designs:

The best part about these portfolio websites is that they integrate seamlessly with PhotoShelter’s image storage, social and SEO tools, e-commerce capabilities, and file delivery system to help you stay organized, reach more clients and sell work easily and securely, making PhotoShelter a true one-stop-shop for you to get work done and look incredible while you do it.

Credit: Robin Moore

Currently in Beta, we’ll be rolling out these new templates to a wider audience later this summer. In the meanttime, you can sign up to be part of the Beta release here.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

Credit: Inger Klekacz

Credit: Stacy Pearsall

Credit: Eduardo Angel

Credit: Grover Sanschagrin 6

Questions to ask when choosing a photo website provider Whether you’ve had a website for your photography business for years or are just starting out, it’s important to step back and ask yourself if your site is meeting your needs. Do you have the tools, features, and flexibility you need to help grow your presence online and beyond? You should take the time to assess if your website is working for you, just like you do with your photography equipment.

5 Is the service regularly evolving its technology? How often do they release new features to improve the product?

We recommend that you evaluate your website once a year, especially as your business grows and your needs change. After all, making sure you have a website that can help grow your business and reach potential clients is critical. Here are a few questions to think through:

What reputation does the service have for helping its customers get found online? Are there tools and features you can take advantage of to help improve your rankings?

1 What purpose does your website serve? For example, do you need a secure archive to store unlimited photos, or do you need a site that serves as a portfolio only? Do you need to be set up for sales so buyers can license photos on-the-go? Do you need your website to integrate seamlessly with your blog? Before anything else, write down a list of the 3-5 most important things you need to get business done online. 2 What are your online-based workflows (i.e. licensing your work, delivering images to clients, blogging, sharing updates on social networks, fulfilling print and product orders directly to print labs, etc)? Are there ways you can streamline these workflows by using one online solution? 3 How often do you plan to update your site (and will you be the one making those changes)? Based on your design skills, will you need to operate off of an instant template to build your homepage, on-page text, logo, gallery layout, portfolio display, etc? Or, do you want the flexibility to customize your site from scratch with HTML and CSS?

How do you want to showcase your photos online? (i.e. full bleed, photo wall, slideshow, tearsheets, etc). Does your service offer flexible design templates? Is it easy to switch among them? 4

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

Do your images load quickly? And when they load, are they optimized for sharpness and quality (including JPEG quality, gamma correction, and color management)? 6

How secure are your photos? Does the service store multiple copies of your images on multiple servers in various geographic locations to keep your files safe? Do they have a history of unexpected downtime? 8

9 Is there a live customer service team you can reach via phone or email if you have questions about getting set up, customizing your site, or for general tech support? Does access to this team come at an extra cost?

What’s your budget? What are you paying now for using multiple services for your online workflow? Do you pay someone to make site updates when you could do it yourself ? Are there other ways to save money? Do you sell work online? At what commission? Taking time to answer these questions will help ensure that you’ve picked the right service that can assist in the growth of your photo business for a very long time. If you’d like to learn how PhotoShelter can help you answer these questions, take a look at PhotoShelter In-Depth: A Tour of Our Product & Services Now let’s dive into the 11 additional factors you need for a great photography website to reach more clients and grow your bottom line. 7

11 Secrets to a great photo website

1. Keep it clean and simple A clean and simple photo website does a few, very important things for you. One: By reducing website clutter and useless design elements, it allows your images to take center stage where they belong. Second, by eliminating unnecessary noise, you also welcome an online experience for potential clients that is intuitive and user-friendly. For example, Portland-based editorial photographer Craig Mitchelldyer (see below) is using a new PhotoShelter portfolio website design, which is made for photographers who want to keep their work from multiple specialities cleanly organized and displayed beautifully.

As top photo consultant Amanda Sosa Stone says, “For the person who has two minutes and wants to hire a photographer, you’ve got to really sell them. And two minutes is generous. I would say it’s more like selling someone in the first two to five clicks.” A clean website also removes unnecessary distractions. For example, “next” and “previous” buttons can fade away until the user wants to move to the next image. Another way to decrease clutter on your website is to be careful about how you watermark your images. Protecting your photos from being stolen is important for many photographers, but it’s also Credit: Amy Vitale important to realize the implications of going too far. If a watermark is so large that it obscures the image, destroying the experience of viewing it, the photographer may be doing themselves a disservice. It’s a tricky balance, but one photographers who want to get clients online need to get comfortable with.

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP Our watermarking tool allows you to create and upload your own watermark (or a standard one we provide) to protect your images. You determine the watermark positioning too; you’re in total control. You also have the flexibility to disable your watermarks on a gallery-

Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer

If there’s too much “stuff ” on your site and people are unable to find what they’re looking for quickly and easily—literally within 20-30 seconds—they’re almost guaranteed to close the page. | 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

by-gallery basis, depending on your needs. Security features built into our websites also help prevent image theft and keep your work safe 24/7. Because of our Image Theft Guard, visitors to your site can’t right-click and save your images, or drag-and-drop them onto their desktop.

2. Consider full bleed images We’re seeing a growing trend among photographers, buyers and potential customers who want to see their images at full screen. This is a departure from the past, where photographers were worried about image theft, intentionally making their images small.

Additional concerns with full bleed image use stem from Google’s new and faster image search, launched in late January 2013, which displays larger images in an inline panel that lets users flip through image search results.

Today, it’s all about impact and getting the assignment. Larger images not only make that impact, but they help people see your work in the way it’s meant to be seen. Potential clients don’t have to make too many leaps to envision your photography for their own use. This is important because it helps reduce guesswork. Full screen images are often referred to as “full bleed” images—or borderless images that extend or “bleed” over the edges of your webpage with no white space (see examples on the next page). As impactful as these images are, it’s always important to weigh the pros and cons of showcasing your work at this scale. For those concerned about theft of such large scale images, Chris Reese, Attorney and author of the ASMP Social Media Terms of Service Recommendations weighs in on the reality of sharing your work online: “Anything that you put online is up for grabs and can be stolen. You have to keep that in mind. If you have the greatest song in the history of the world and you post that on YouTube for free, you might dramatically undercut your ability to commercialize it. On the other hand, it might not.” “It’s very easy for us to imagine that something we’ve created will all of a sudden catch fire and everybody will want it—that’s the nature of creation. Is that likely to happen? Not often. When we decide to use the tools available to us through the Internet, being overly concerned about the potential for bad things to happen is probably just as much of a concern as overstating the potential for good things to happen.”

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

In many ways, this revamped image search provides a better user experience. But some SEO consultants suggest that users no longer find the need to navigate to the source page now that they can see (and potentially swipe) a large, high res photo directly from Google.

Yet with risks involved, more and more photographers are leaning toward the great benefit of showcasing their photography at a full bleed scale. “I like the uncluttered look of a full screen image, especially on mobile devices,” says advertising and editorial photographer Robert Huber. “The full bleed images I showcase on my homepage also rotate from a group of predetermined images. Since visitors on the site cannot choose which image is displayed full screen, I am not too worried about the image being stolen.”

Credit: Robert Huber

Lifestyle, portrait, and action photographer Darren Carroll adds, “I think the benefit to having such big images is simply impact. It's a very quick, graphic, and in-your-face introduction to the work, and the way I have mine set up—an automatic slide show with a 3-second interval—ensures I can get various samples of different styles up quickly without the viewer having to really do anything. “However, I'm always concerned about image theft and I'm actually working on a way of integrating an "invisible" watermark into those homepage images by burying it under the navigation bar on the left. But for now, like just about anything we put online, it's just a risk you have to take, and I think the advantages of doing it this way far outweigh those risks.” | 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

3. Be responsive These days, people are viewing your website on all kinds of devices, and technology is allowing for sites to automatically scale to the appropriate size without the need for an app. For this reason, it's important that your portfolio website functions properly across desktop computers, small laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. To do this, your website should be “responsive.” This is a term that refers to a design approach in which a website is built to adapt to the device being used to view it. With responsive design, images will literally resize to fit the screen they’re viewed on.

Which mobile devices (if any) do you use to conduct business? The top responses were:

40%

31%

Responsiveness is important because what looks nice on a desktop computer with plenty of space will not necessarily render well on a mobile phone, where space is very limited. A person who is visiting your website on a mobile device may also have a different set of needs and expectations than a person using a desktop computer. For example, they won't be expecting to see your images large because this isn't possible. Instead, they may be looking for your contact information. Or, they may want to quickly scan your images from the comfort of their couch at home, with the intention of looking at your portfolio on a larger size screen using their computer at work the next day.

40% of photographers said they use their iPhones to do business

31% of photographers said they use their iPads to do business

Responsiveness is such a growing trend that Mashable even named 2013 “The Year of Responsive Web Design.” Responsive web designs also have additional benefits including having only one website to build and manage (no need to update content in multiple locations), and SEO and social media advantages (all links point to one URL).

PhotoShelter sites are built using HTML to make them SEO-friendly and accessible on all

Keep in mind that responsive designs are not only crucial for potential clients and photo buyers, but also for your own needs as a photographer on-the-go. In The Photographer’s Outlook on 2013 survey, we asked:

sponsive and even more mobile-friendly, which means that regardless of what monitor,

That’s a lot. This means that if you use an iPad to show your work, your work should look great and function well on an iPad—it’s that simple.

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP

recent versions of the most commonly used web browsers, plus they render well on your mobile device. One of the coolest things about our new portfolio websites is that each template is rebrowser, or mobile device you’re using, your images will adapt—or respond—to fit the space you’re looking at. So whether you’re meeting with a potential client with you iPad or even your phone—it will work for you. Watch this quick video to check out how easily they adapt to various browsers and devices.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

4. Act like a GPS People have different reasons for visiting your site. You can’t assume, for example, that everyone who clicks through is looking to license a print or hire you for a gig (although that would be nice). There are a lot of reasons people stumble upon your site (often not even coming through your homepage first), and your site must offer a user-friendly experience that entertains a number of browsing scenarios. For this reason, your site should act as a roadmap to help visitors navigate with ease and find what they’re looking for quickly. This means when they arrive at a gallery and browse through your site, they should always know exactly where they are and how to get back. As a photo buyer from a book publishing company told us in our survey, What Buyers Want from Photographers, “A big mistake photographers make is when their website creates a terrible user experience. There are so many great photographers out there that have their work undermined by a bad portfolio site. If they’re not digitally savvy, they should ask a friend to help.” In general, people like to know where they are in any process or sequence. When they have this information, they feel confident about what’s around the corner and comfortable with the overall experience. To accomplish this, your website navigation should contain 'breadcrumbs,' which allows people to link directly back to the start of the portfolio gallery, or back several levels to a gallery index, or even to the homepage of your website.

Credit: Stacy Pearsall

Likewise, visitors should know where they are in a sequence of images. For example, if you have a portfolio gallery with 32 images, then you should let them know where they are in that sequence as they advance through it. (Example: Image 6 of 32; Image 7 of 32; Image 8 of 32; etc.) See example to the right from military photographer and PhotoShelter member Stacy Pearsall. | 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

5. Don’t be a poet Under the same umbrella of creating a site that is simple, intuitive, and easy to navigate, there’s also no need to get “fancy” with your website’s language. Doing so may ultimately turn your site into a matrix of surprise doors where people don’t know what to expect each time they click. Instead, make sure that your sections, labels, page titles, and navigation make sense and are straightforward to a general audience. Getting clever with these things might seem like a way to be different and stand out, but it creates a frustrating experience for your users. When it comes to gallery names, stick with the most obvious words that describe exactly what’s on the other side of that link. Find out which words and phrases your potential customers typically look for, and use these to name your various portfolios. Note, this will also help with your Search Engine Optimization (SEO). By most estimates, there are over 200 signals that affect SEO rankings, many of which fall under “on-page” factors like page titles, header tags, on-page text, etc, that you can control. You should also stick to terminology and wording that is familiar to the industry you are targeting. This, of course, means that you need to know your target audience. For example, if you specialize in shooting images of insects, you should include the scientific names and classifications of them because the audience most interested in them just might expect to see this level of detail. If you are a wedding photographer, stick to the terms and structure that brides are familiar with. "Ceremony" and "Reception" are better choices for a collection of images than "Commitment" and "Joy." Check out commercial and fine art photographer Stacy Bass who clearly and simply labels her galleries based on the specific flowers, landscapes, and subject matters she’s featuring:

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

Credit: Stacy Bass

It’s important to keep it simple when writing your photo captions too. Clearly describe exactly what’s going on in the photo. Leaving the viewer with questions like “where and when was this photo taken?” may work against you. Check out this example of a clear photo caption from Johan Peijnenburg of NiO Photography. Remember, what you think of as clever or unique may end up being vague or puzzling to someone viewing your site. If you’re unsure whether your language is clear or not, try asking a creative professional or a friend to run through your site with an eye toward any ambiguities.

6. Edit your portfolio tightly Your online portfolio—the place where you showcase your best work—is one of your most influential marketing tools. But it’s no secret that photographers can be their own worst editors and bring all sorts of emotional attachment to the editing process when putting their portfolios together.

Also check out PhotoShelter member Beth Wold, a nature photographer specializing in wildlife photography. Her website features tightly edited portfolios containing approximately 15-25 images each.

So, when choosing images to include in your portfolio, you need to ask yourself 3 important questions: 1 What is your best work? Think through why you think this is your best work. Make sure you’ve gotten reliable feedback on the images—being objective is tough.

You want to show strong work that aligns with your goals as a photographer and the goals of who you want as a client. If you have trouble articulating those goals and your ideal clients’ needs, take time to critically flesh that out before moving forward. 2 Will these images get you the jobs you want?

3 How many images do want to show? Quality is not quantity. Many top photo consultants advise keeping a portfolio between 25-40 images.

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP We recently caught up with some of the most respected photo consultants in the business to get their tips on editing your online portfolio to attract potential clients and win more jobs. Check out our guide Creating a Successful Photography Portfolio, plus our video interview with top photo editor Jasmine Defoore “Getting Organized and Building a Better Portfolio” packed with additional insights on putting together an effective portfolio.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

Credit: Beth Wold

7. Be SEO-ready Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a technique that helps search engines find and rank your site within their organic search results. And landing on the first page of Google’s search results is the ultimate goal, right? The higher you rank in results, the more web traffic can come through to your site, which in turn gives your more opportunities to convert prospective clients into buying customers. Unfortunately, there is no one-stop formula for improving your search engine rankings. Google doesn’t like to share those secrets. But we do know that the way you structure and edit your website content can maximize your rankings—and a great photography website makes this easy. So in order to get your site SEO-ready, you need to first: 1 Create a list of keywords your potential clients would likely use to find you, then use those keywords in the page titles, metadata, and page text. This is what Google “crawls” to see if your website is relevant to what the person is searching. Google even offers a keyword generational tool that can help.

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP To get found online, you need a website that’s optimized for SEO. That means no Flashbased sites (Google and other search engines can’t “crawl” these sites). Instead, you need to focus on on-page factors that affect your SEO ranking including page titles, image captions, metadata, IPTC data, etc). This seems like a lot to take on. The good news is that PhotoShelter makes editing your on-page factors easy. We also provide an exclusive SEO Grader, which measures how well your PhotoShelter site is optimized for SEO over 30 different metrics. The Grader also gives advice on how you can improve your website to enhance its visibility to major search engines. For more tips on improving your search engine rankings, also check out our SEO for Photographers Bootcamp & Guide.

2 Add captions and keywords to all your photos. Don’t be afraid to put text next to your images, although make sure your descriptions are succinct and don’t clutter your site. If you are not the best writer, ask someone for help, but don’t avoid image captions altogether. Captions can also give important factual information about an image and can be used to underscore the importance of the subject matter. If you can color in the facts for the viewer, they’re more likely to understand and relate to the image, and continue navigating through your site.

Just always keep in mind: Text is critical for SEO and is the foundation of all search engines. Without it, you can’t be found. And if you can’t be found, your business will take a hit.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

8. Put your contact info everywhere Whether your goal is to land assignments, sell stock or book weddings, it’s crucial that a potential client knows how to contact you. The easiest way is to include your contact details on every page of your website. That may sound simple, but we hear buyers and photo editors say too often that they fall in love with a photographer’s work, but have difficulty finding information to help them get in touch.

If you are determined to fight spam, one suggestion is to spell out your email address, for example, “melissa at gmail dot com” or, as Lincoln Barbour does, leave the “.com” out altogether as that part of the email address is implied.

As the Associate Photo Editor of Real Simple magazine said, “Please have an area with clear instructions on how to contact you. List at least your email address and then also your rep’s or gallery’s name, agency, phone number and e-mail. If I want to hire you, I need to know who you want me to contact, and how.” We’re not suggesting that you make contact information so big and bold that it distracts viewers from your images. Instead, include something small and subtle at the bottom of the screen that doesn’t take attention away from the images, but is there when a client decides to pick up the phone. Also adding your geographical location is a great idea. Keep in mind that most visitors to your website don’t start their visit with your homepage. For example, if someone is searching for “U.S. Gymnastics Championships 2008”, you’re unlikely going to have that image on your homepage. Instead, it probably lives in a gallery deeper in your site. If a visitors hits that page first, they may need a way to contact you just like someone who comes through the front door. Putting your email address on a website may increase the amount of spam you receive, yes, but ask yourself what’s more important—fighting spam or landing an assignment. For example, food and architectural photographer Lincoln Barbour, puts his email address, phone number, photo rep’s contact info, and social sharing links all in one footer, which appears on every page. This way those interested in licensing his photography or getting in touch can find his contact information immediately, regardless of where they happen to be on his site. | 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

Credit: Lincoln Barbour

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP We make it easy for you to add your name, email address and phone number to the footer text of your website. PhotoShelter members can easily add and edit this Footer Text under the Website —>Customize section of their account.

9. Get social

10. Faster is better

You already know that social media is a great way to connect with your audience and drive word-of-mouth referrals. That’s why you need a site that lets you easily share your work with your social networks and lets your visitors share too.

According to our survey, What Buyers Want from Photographers, we learned that nobody likes to wait around for images to load. There is a general expectation that your website will be fast enough to keep up with whatever pace potential buyers normally maintain.

In our survey on What Buyers Want from Photographers, we asked if photo buyers had ever found new talent through social media. 56% of those who said yes, said that often find new photographers on Facebook specifically. This means that if you’re not marketing your work through a channel like Facebook, you may be missing out on some real opportunities to connect and build your brand. Kaia Hemming, an art buyer at JWT, is an example of a buyer who turns to social media to stay up-to-date with photographers she’s interested in. “Social media can really help a photographer find a job,” Kaia says. “For example, I was friends with a photographer on Facebook and learned through his updates that he was shooting a lot of great food and beverage imagery. Because of that, he was put into the mix for a shoot and ended up getting the gig!”

If they are forced to slow down and wait, even for 1 second, this is noticeable and it will count against you. It’s a good idea to test things for yourself. How long does it take for images to load? Images should be snappy and show up immediately without delay. Your network and connection speed can affect this as well as whether you’re using a wireless or “grounded” network, but in general, your photos should load quickly.

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP Our new portfolio websites are designed to load quickly for optimal performance. They’re engineered to present their rich visual presentations as quickly and efficiently

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP

as possible. Advanced techniques such as dynamic load optimization, pre-fetching, priority queuing and client device detection help deliver a responsive experience on both

PhotoShelter websites come equipped with social media buttons for every gallery and

desktop computers and tablet devices.

individual image. People can share your galleries and images via Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. They can also “like” (Facebook) and +1 (Google+) your work. Through your PhotoShelter website, you can also tweet a gallery or image, or export it directly from your PhotoShelter account. No need to re-upload your photos, just use our Share Gallery button and socialize your work fast. If you’re concerned about image theft, you can enable image watermarking and images will be displayed with a pre-built watermark or one you create yourself.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

11. Be ready to sell Imagine this: You’ve done a stellar job optimizing your site to rank highly on search engines, your website is easy to navigate, loads quickly, and your best work is front and center. All great.

PHOTOSHELTER CAN HELP PhotoShelter’s fully integrated shopping cart ensures that the buying process is clear and simple, from the moment clients or potential clients land on your site all the way to the

But then a photo editor from a local magazine finds your site and and wants to license one of your images for an upcoming issue. Or, a total stranger—a Dad living with his family in Montana—wants to buy his wife a beautiful print of Yellowstone National Park, and by searching online, finds that great photo you took last year. In both scenarios, if your site isn’t setup for sales with flexible purchasing options, you’re losing out on potential customers who may want to license a photo on-the-go. Seamlessly tying e-commerce capabilities to your photo website can ultimately grow your bottom line without you doing any extra work.

end point of sale, where they submit their billing and shipping information. What’s more

Documentary photographer Jody MacDonald sums it up perfectly: “There’s nothing better than being in a remote place and selling an image. It feels as though I have an assistant selling my work for me.”

aged pricing calculator. Your account comes equipped with a fotoQuote software, giving

is that the PhotoShelter shopping cart experience is strategically designed to drive more checkout conversions. Unlike other services, PhotoShelter supports the sale of prints and products, rights-managed, and royalty free licenses, and personal use downloads. Through Pricing Profiles, you can price images differently across your website. PhotoShelter is also the only photographer website service that provides a rights-manyou the ability to license images using the same type of pricing calculator found on photo agency sites. Accepting payment is seamless with PhotoShelter too. You can choose to use PayPal, Stripe, or a merchant account like Authorize.net. Most importantly, you’re paid at the point of sale—no waiting for check or getting paid days (or months) later. Also with PhotoShelter, you can keep track of your sales. Every time a client downloads an image or someone completes a purchase, you’ll receive an email notification from us letting you know. You can view your entire sales history—including both pending and completed sales—in your account at any time.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

Conclusion Your website is your single greatest tool to help you reach potential clients, get found online, showcase your work, sell prints and products, and build your brand as professional photographer. If your site misses the mark—if it’s difficult to navigate, loads slowly, is cluttered, confusing and uninformative—your business may take a serious hit. That’s why tackling this list and checking off items one by one will help make you improve your website’s user experience, impress visitors, keep clients coming back, and earn that golden word-of-mouth referral to grow your business better than ever before.

| 11 Secrets to a Great Photo Website

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vimeo.com/photoshelter

plus.google.com/+photoshelter/posts